


Free Fall

by AwatereJones



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Space, Drama, F/M, Gen, M/M, Outer Space, Romance, Silly, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:48:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 19,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29069808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwatereJones/pseuds/AwatereJones
Summary: In the future space flight is possible due to Hyper-sleep. you settle in your pod and go to sleep, wake up weeks even months later at your destination. But what if something goes wrong? Ianto is about to wake unscheduled as he finds the Space Hauler is not only in a free fall through space there is no one answering his yells. OH BOY we need a hero .. any guesses folks? xx
Relationships: Gwen Cooper/Rhys Williams, Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Owen Harper/Toshiko Sato, Suzie Costello/John Hart
Comments: 66
Kudos: 63





	1. Chapter 1

The vessel was waiting.

Passengers boarded in an orderly fashion, showing their tickets to the 'flight hosts' and once onboard they were escorted to their rooms. Each room was the same as the others. A bland little white box with another white box waiting for them. A pod.

Ianto did not really like this mode of transport but he had no choice. The new job was one that not only ensured his future but made enough to filter money back home to Rhiannon who was not a well-to-do war widow. As much as he hated chryo-stasis he had to suck it up to help her… and the kids. His own war wounds securing him this desk job he was not sure he really wanted at all.

He undressed and stepped into the decontamination unit they so lovingly called a shower. He let the blasts of air blast off at least a layer of skin and most of his body hair as he closed his eyes, the mesh cap covering his head to protect what it could. Didn't matter, it still grew during sleep and when they got to the other side he would have to shave anyway.

Done, he stepped out and dressed in the weird paper overalls then gingerly got into the chryo unit. Had to be careful, it if ripped there was not another and to wake to find crew helping you out with your arse hanging out was not nice. He had heard some horror stories, believe you me.

Of course, the worst were those who did not live to tell you… great idea… go there. Pessimist.

Ianto sighed as he tried to settle and then he cursed softly.

"Have to pee" he muttered clambering out and standing there peeing, and then he got back in and waited. He wondered idly if he needed another blast of air and decided to be a little daring and forgo another defoliation.

A soft ping told him it was time, another ping that started a countdown and finally the lid of the unit slowly descended and he closed his eyes, the worst part about to happen as the temperature changed and the weird smell of the sleeping gas invaded the space.

Please… no bad dreams this time…..

Ianto was asleep within seconds.

.

.

The pings were fucking annoying.

Come on… fucking… what time is it?

Ianto sighed and opened one eye, looking around inside his pod with confusion, then he opened both eyes to stare at the glass top of the unit. What?

Where are the crew to help him out? Why was the fucking thing still closed?

Ianto pressed on the lid and it didn't give.

Weird.

He looked to his left… then his right and tried to remember the… there. Emergency override. Ianto knew the code, he memorized it from the manual and tried it now, the lid finally popping up with a hiss, then it bounced back down and he yelled, slapping his hand on it to stop it closing again.

He sat up and looked around the barren room.

Had the gas failed?

He pulled at the sleeve of his paper thing and found hair on his arm. Not normal length but there. So... time had passed. Not full like normal… maybe… half? No. fuck.

Ianto struggled out of the unit and landed on the floor, his body arguing that it needed to sleep in a little more, needed time to wake up. Where were the crew? What the hell… this felt so wrong. God, he was so thirsty.

Ianto find himself in the bathroom dinking from the tap, gulping it down and then he realized he was famished too. What the hell… this is not right. Stasis is… how long was he drifting, not fully under?

He pushed on the door and opened it, then looked out.

White.

Silence.

Nothing.

Not right.

He shuffled into the corridor and yelled as loudly as he could, his deep voice echoing back.

He listened.

OK… now he is alarmed and he stepped back into the safety of his room, fingering the overalls as he went over options.

OK… first thing's first. Paper is not a good look. Change back into real clothes.

Ianto then left the room and walked the corridor, calling out again and listening. He stood and stared at a wall, trying to recall the blueprints for this place…ah…yes… this way. Ianto walked along for what seemed like hours but must be more like twenty minutes tops and he reached the flight deck, knocking softly.

No answer.

He reached for the handle and then stooped.

It felt wrong.

He knocked again and placed his ear to the door.

Nothing.

"Are they in there?"

Ianto screamed as a voice startled him then he turned to find a woman standing there in her paper overalls her eyes wide with fear and her hands shaking "Any noise from them? Only… I don't know which rooms have my husband and son in them… we had to fly separate. Last minute tickets, could not get them together."

She was babbling and Ianto didn't' know if he was relieved there was someone else or if it made things worse.

"Give the man a second" another voice cut in, an old man standing back with equal alarm "We are in trouble young buck, aren't we!"

"I … I don't think they are alive in there" Ianto finally said, "Protocol 46G of section C Emergency Procedures … if the flight crew are incapacitated or deceased they wake up random passengers in the hopes of militarial being on board."

"Then you knowing that makes you the one in charge" the old man pointed a finger at him "So. First order of business?"

"Well.. we need find any others awake so we can put our heads together . There has to be someone on board that knows things I don't… if there are enough of us who has read about this vessel together we might know of a failsafe or some sort of.. well… solution."

"Right. How do we do that?" the woman asked shakily.

"I don't know… we can't go in there to check the manifest so… I suggest one of us looks for the secondary flight deck four levels down and the other two … look-in rooms for other wokens?" Ianto shrugged.

"There is another flight deck, lad?"


	2. What about this old Harkness fella?

Ianto looked at the controls with trepidation. He knew what they were had read the manual so with his edidic memory knew what they were for and even what they were saying but it didn’t’ help them at all.

“Fuck!”

“Can you fly it?”

Badly?” he shrugged back “Most likely… no. At a pinch I can avoid a planet, not an asteroid… I don’t think. We need…. We need passenger manifests… we need to know the designation of the cargo. Flights like this deadhead… terrible phrase… there are often flight crew for another trip on here, they sleep to the place of our destination, take over to fly to the next one… like shift on shift off. If we can find the manifest we might be able to track down the other flight crew.”

“You are a pretty clever guy” the old man said with a nod of his head “Kevin.”

“Ianto.”

“Daisy.”

The three regarded one another then Ianto smiled, “find any others awake?”

“Nope, not a dickybird.”

“Dickybird. Would like to see one of those, I mean… does it have a huge dick between it’s little spindly legs or is the bird shaped like one do you think?” Ianto muttered and the woman giggled nervously as the old man shook his head. “Sorry, when I am nervous I tend to talk to meself. Just ignore me.”

“Oh no… it’s comforting to hear another voice other than my own in my head” Daisy assured him and Ianto hummed as his fingers tapped on the keyboard “Here we go. Right… crew chambers… come on.”

Ianto took off and they struggled to keep up as he rushed along corridors, took to an elevator where he grimaced along with them at the sound of the horrible music. Seems that is something man never really fixed, lazy bunch aren’t we… “Port… this way”

Ianto took off and they followed, then he got to a door that had the crew insignia on it and Daisy sighed with relief as Ianto reached for the door handle then paused.

"Boy?”

Ianto placed his ear against the door, and then closed his eyes, and then he knocked. Listened, leaned back to stare at the door and hum.

“Is something wrong?” Daisy asked, then yelled as he spun and yanked a few strands of long hair from her and apologized, then turned back to the door.

They watched him hold the strands out, falling over his fingers as he moved his hand along the seal of the door, then to their horror the hair twitched, then took off into the seam as Ianto stepped back with a soft curse.

“Seal breach” Kevin grunted.

“Well… yeah” Ianto rubbed his face and considered “Right… the chryo-units are supposed to withstand this, if the hull is breached they self contain until space port where a code is used to open them, so … let’s assume the crew are alive, just asleep and safe in a dangerous airless vacuum.”

“Yeah… sounds good” Kevin said with sarcasm.

“Right so… still fucked” Ianto said as he stared into space. “Right. Back to the passenger manifest.”

“What might that do?” Daisy asked as they wandered back that way, then she said softly while they were in the elevator “My husband and kids are on that side of the ship.”

“And they will be safe, same as the crew. When we get to a dry-dock they will simply put a shied over the entire ship and pump atmo back in, then the pods will open.” Ianto told her confidently and she sighed with relief.

Kevin glanced over her head at Ianto as he knew as well as Ianto that the chances of the chryos actually holding out were about fifty-fifty.

.

.

“Here’s one.”

Ianto leaned over Daisy to look and huffed “Nope.”

She sighed and went back to tapping the button to let the passenger manifest file change. Kevin glanced at Ianto and asked “Where are you off to?”

“I found the sealant for the airlock doors… we need to seal it so the atmo doesn’t keep leaking out… we don’t know how long this will take so… sealing those doors is important.” Ianto explained.

“Good… you seem to know what you are doing” Kevin said as he followed Ianto into the corridor beyond the flight deck “Oi!”

Ianto turned to face him “I do not normally fly, I hate to fly but that doesn’t mean I do not know all about flying. I am militarial, usually a passenger, not crew. My job was always on the ground.”

“So… another military man might do? There is a Captain something with some sort of mark on his file that says he is land based too.” Kevin said as he thumbed over his shoulder.

Ianto followed him back and accepted the file to stare at it “Wow… this mark if that of a Regulator. He must be ancient… I don’t know if an old man can be woken up like this.”

“Well… let’s go take a look” Kevin said as he picked up the file “Let’s see if that old Harkness fella will have a coronary if we wake him.”


	3. er... hi?

Ianto looked at the man's face, then the file and frowned "This can't be right. He's barely five or six years older than me!"

"Maybe ten with good genetics" Daisy joined in, then watched Ianto frown deeper as he looked at the file "What?"

"Boeshanninan" Ianto said softly "He could be any age… you know they are tricky."

"Tricky" Kevin sighed "He's a bloody rebel isn't he!"

"Well, there is clearly a reason he is not in service anymore" Ianto replied, then he added "But then again… neither am I."

Ianto considered, looked at each of them in turn then pushed the keypad, coding in the unlock mechanism. There was a soft sigh of air as the unit vented… like Ianto's should have… he looked at the other two "Did yours do that?"

"Yah. Didn't yours?" Kevin asked, leaning on his cane, "He's moving."

The man moved and blearily looked up at them, focusing on Ianto with widening eyes, then a slow smile travelled across his face as he sat up to grip the sides of the pod "Wow. You know… you are not the usual waking crew I get on one of these backwater rides but you know… things are certainly looking up. Tell me handsome… what's your name so I can make sure you get five stars in your ratings?"

"Jones, Ianto Jones" Ianto said with a flustered shuffle of his feet "Ah… Captain… we are not crew. We are passengers."

The man waved a hand "First things first. Captain Jack Harkness… wait… you called me Captain. You know me? Damn… tell me you are not an assassin or bounty hunter? On one of these shit heaps?"

Ianto sighed, then said calmly "We have experienced what I suspect is a meteor shower. The flight deck is airlocked off, I felt cold when I touched the door, there is no sound but a faint sigh. We then went to the secondary flight deck where I discovered where the flight crew quarters are, we went there only to find it also airlocked. I investigated and discovered a small leak in the seals. I have now used enough sealant to stop those doors from opening for all eternity. When we space dock they will have to go through the destroyed hull to get into the bitch."

Jack blinked slowly as he stared at Ianto then he said "You are not playing."

"I don't have time to play."

Jack clambered out of the pod and stretched then he yawned as he considered "Right. I have a crew with me, deadheading to Sector 6 to pick up a vessel for a private individual. We need to wake them."

"Are they Port side tickets?"

"Shit. The entire side?" Jack grimaced then said "No, we buy in bulk ahead of time, they are in the doors along this corridor. How many… how many pods?"

"I estimate the capacity of this freighter to be about 400 souls so.. averages tell me at least 100 to 150 expired?" Ianto shrugged and Jack looked at him with surprise as he knew the odds were correct.

"Come on, let's wake Owen first. You'll like him. He's a prick of a pirate." Jack clapped his hands together and started to leave the room as Daisy made a small noise in the back of her throat, staring straight at Ianto with horror.

'Sir?" Ianto said softly and Jack swung to face him with raised eyebrows "Sir… as nice as it is and I am sure freeing to sleep like that… I almost wish I had myself… perhaps… perhaps clothes?"

Jack looked down at his naked self and snorted with mirth "Oh yeah. I always tear the shit out of those overalls in sleep stasis so … I always go as the Gods made me."

"So we ALL see, the Gods were kind."

Jack's smile was so shiny it is a wonder they were not blinded.

.

.

"Well fuck!" Owen said with annoyance as he threw himself back into the pod… yes… like a toddler having a tantrum because in the middle of the supermarket he knows you can't smack his arse, thrashing about as he screamed with rage then lay there panting, his overalls almost destroyed. "This is a Long Jump Nightmare right?"

"Finished?" Jack asked calmly.

Owen thrashed a bit more then slapped a hand on the edge to lever himself out "Fuck. I told you this was a shit assignment, I told you it was one I had a bad feeling about but would you listen to me?"

Owen was ranting as he snatched each piece of clothing from a silent Ianto, Owen still ranting at Jack as he forced each item on then finished with "No one ever listens to my feeling!"

"Owen, you start every assignment telling me we will die on this one" Jack sighed and Owen snatched the last pieces of clothing, stopping to stare at Ianto for the longest time… slowing lifting his hand and raising a finger to point, looking at Jack with his mouth open in mid scream, then turning back to Ianto.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Your turn down service? Want a chockie on your pillow tonight?"

Jack stared at Ianto as he eyeballed the other man and Owen's face changed from anger to shock, then he started to bray with laughter as he pointed at Ianto "Jack, we better give him five stars for service, he's a fucking hoot."

"Hoot… hoot" Ianto winked as he smiled slowly and Owen screamed with glee.

"Oh Jack… can we keep him?"


	4. further introductions

Toshiko was woken by Owen as Jack headed to another room. Ianto didn't feel the need to help as he wandered back to the other two and settled with Kevin and Daisy in the passenger comfort seats that line the corridor (so the passengers can wait to disembark once awake) to watch the madness unfold.

A small woman exploded from the room with her brassiere on, Owen running after her with a look of horror as he tried to give her a jacket that she slapped away, yelling at him in Japanese as she tried to put her hair up on t a loose ponytail.

Jack exited another room with a woman who had wild curly hair and her overalls already grubby like she had been awake and destroying the room.

"Hey Owen… guess who was stuck in her pod?" Jack called out as the woman turned to glare at him.

"SUZIE! Owen crowed, laughing lustily.

"Not so finny, I was stuck in mine too and no one outside to help me!" Ianto defended her with open annoyance "You know there is onto a certain amount of time to get out once it wakes you before it shuts you in again right? A safety feature in case we were woken by accident?"

Clearly they didn't, staring at him with wide eyes.

Kevin chuckled as he settled back in the chair to watch Ianto rise from his, like liquid he moved forward and Suzie openly gaped at him as he approached Jack "Is this all of them?"

"One more but it might be better to leave him sleeping. Only time we have a break" Jack sighed looking at the other door but Susie was already heading that way "Too late."

"You don't like him?"

"He's my ex-lover and Suzie is his current toy. He is not ready to let me go but at the same time… happy to be an arsehole. I don't know if he will help or hinder us." Jack advised Ianto in a low tone.

"Well… we can always send him into a room to check the atmo first" Ianto shot back and Jack grinned as he decided he really like this guy.

.

.

"Not good" Toshiko muttered as she scanned the man screens she had taken over, not even Ianto able to understand all the things scrolling across them as she stood with the numbers and equations reflected in the lenses of her glasses, frowning "whatever hit us, hit hard. Looks like shields were still coming on line, were not strong enough. Starboard was to the ley slide to…aren't we lucky Owen clicked the wrong button and we didn't get General Steerage. Shit."

Ianto glanced over at Daisy who was listening intently and cleared his throat "But General Steerage on the Port side still have safety protocols and such, they are likely OK just can't come out of stasis as the atmo in the room outside their pods is no good."

Toshiko glanced over at him to say something as Owen snorted but Jack was there "That's right. Standard procedure for the pods to lock down and emergency locks mean they will sleep on with safe air."

Toshiko and Owen stared at him then followed his gaze to the woman wringing her hands, then nodded enthusiastically. Ianto relaxed. Christ.

Suzie appeared with a man who seemed so thin he was surely there for entertainment purposes only, dancing around in his garish clothing flirting, pouting and generally pissing everyone off. His hand found Ianto's arse cheek momentarily and he was suddenly very still.

"You did not ask permission to do that" Ianto said calmly as he faced him, eye to eye and nose to nose "I suggest you stop being a fucktard and start helping us get this bitch to a spaceport so drydock can get us out. Either that or find some food I am hungry."

John stood stock still, the small blade installed up his left nostril the best incentive ever to stop being a …er…fucktard… and he grinned at the handsome devil with a killer snakebite "You only had to say lover."

"I am not your lover. I am not your boss, I do not think we are friends mister…."

"Captain. Captain Hart" John said grandly then yelped as the blade twitched "John. John is fine."

"John. Right. Hello John, I am Ianto and I am having a hell of a day. How about you?"

John grunted as he admitted "Peckish."

"Good" Ianto moved like smoke, stepping away, extracting the knife and putting distance between them all in one stroke leaving John to rub his nose with surprise.

"Where did you come from?"

"A pod" Ianto replied, leaning over to look a the blueprints Jack had laid out "These are wrong."

"Huh?"

"The ones I saw had a corridor running along here and there is an access shaft for the engineering crew tight up though here not on here." Ianto tapped the area in several spots.

"Official specs. You must have seen the true ones… how did you manage that?" Jack asked as he looked up at him "The official ones are what are signed off on, the ones agreed to by Starfleet. The ones they call Black Prints are the true ship's internal raceways. The added bits for secrecy, efficiently or smuggling."

"Pirates" Ianto muttered.

"Only at the weekends" Jack replied with a grin "But…. Hey all do it. The Black Prints are classified."

"I saw them on a wall inside an office while doing research for this trip. I did wonder why they were black and white. Black Prints… they were back and white. Hmmmm, you learn something very day."

"Yeah" Jack said as he continued too stare at the man who had just admitted he had been in a secure part of the Agency's bowels "You sure do."


	5. ahhh.... the dulcet tones of a Gwen

"We have an alarm in the aft steerage" Toshiko said quietly as she rocked in her chair, tapping at key, "the breach is venting into space but… looks like the tear is relatively small. They have 70% atmo."

"That doesn't make sense" Jack frowned "If we were hit along the side… why is the back… huh… they tried to run from it? Who runs from a meteor shower? Where the hell did they think they were going if they ran along the same trajectory as the meteors?"

"Good question" Ianto said softly as he sat at another workstation, sudden alarms and lights flashing as he yelped and leaned back "SHIT … sorry… I turned something on."

"And did you ever!" John meandered over to Ianto and took a moment to smell his hair before looking t the readouts as Ianto looked scandalized "He's only managed to get the heat signatures up and running… look at this. We must have more awake over on the fourth level… look… a clump moving about."

"That's not a pod area… that's storage and non-life-form cargo" Ianto said as he frowned "Why the hell would there be so many in there?"

Jack stared at it long and hard then shrugged "Our main problem right now is this alarm Aft. If that tear gets away from her and is opened to the black there is a failsafe that releases the locks for that end of her… the entire arse will disengage to protect the living cargo."

"But… there are about twenty people in there!" Daisy said with horror "Are you telling me that if the breach widens and the atmo starts to fall this bloody boat will throw off the entire back end, people and all?"

"Yep" Ianto popped the P as he drummed his fingers "It is supposed to be non-living cargo I there, expendable. But it is at 70%... has to drop below 50% before she starts looking at options. We have an hour… hour and a half before she starts contingencies."

"Options?" Jack asked looking at Ianto with interest as John stepped back and canted his head.

"Well… if we pump some canned atmo in through the crack in the door, go in and open as many as we can before the red lights come on and she warns us of the dropping atmo … we might get them out."

"I like it" John said, then looked around as the others nodded "Suzie?"

"Canned atmo… or we can pump it from another unused cargo area like the one above it… go in there, punch directly through the flooring and pump it in… can hold it up to another half hour… give us two hours to open and evacuate that rear hold. More than we need."

"An entire floor layer… can you punch through that?" Jack grimaced.

"If anyone can, she can" John points out and they all nodded "come on sweet cheeks."

"Suzie?" Jack called after them "No risks. They might already be compromised… we need you."

She saluted him as she took off with John and Owen watched for a while then said "Should I go with?"

"Definitely not!" Toshiko snarled without looking up from her screen as her fingers danced across the keypad "Stay with me."

"OK"

.

.

Twenty minutes is what it took to get organized and Ianto did not like it… back to roughly an hour and a half of rampaging in there. Maybe… Ianto went into the supply closet and took a few things, returning to find them cracking the doors gingerly. The soft sigh as they opened their first warning that venting was more extreme than thought and Ianto brushed past then to enter and head for the outer wall, scanning it with his eyes as he ran.

They watched him reach the wall and his hand going out to stroke the skin, searching… there. Ianto slapped a seal over it and Toshiko laughed as she saw the box he had been carrying, rising got help and soon the wall was a patchwork quilt of patches as the others worked to wake pope from their pods.

"My husband… where is my husband" a voice was demanding, getting more and more annoying as Ianto turned to find a woman standing by a pod with her hands on her hips, her mouth downturned and a look of mild rage "I am going to sue you lot, this is disgusting. What the frick is going on here!"

"Look… they moved you in here once you were out. When they dock, the wake those up front first then shift you lot back into the rooms so you never know you were double booked. They do it all the time" Owen was explaining calmly as he moved to another pod "illegal but done … and you can sue wherever the fuck ya like… if we get out of this. We are in the same boat as you… literally missus. Look around, any of us wearing uniforms?"

She looked around, her eyes wild with fear and she then pointed "That one. That's his. RHYS!"

"Oh god… we have a live one" Toshiko muttered to Ianto as she rolled her eyes.

Ianto was not sure if this poor Rhys bloke wanted to be awake for this.


	6. ... and then it fell off...

"And you are?" Gwen had Ianto bailed up and he felt that flare of anger rising up his neck, the blush no doubt a deep one as he tried to get around her. You would think knowing she is a fellow Welshman would endear him to her but unfortunately she sounded too much like his Great Aunt Mildred and she was an old bitch of a woman.

"He's with us" Owen snarked as he brushed past her, pushing her back as he separated the two and glared her down "Leave him alone. If not for him you would all be dead right now."

A klaxon sounded faintly and Ianto paled "Oh god… the first warning."

"Yeah, gone below 50%" Toshiko agreed as the last of the cargo worth saving was dragged through the airlock and they stood watching it cycle closed, the soft click nothing like the loud boom you would expect from an airlock engaging.

"So.. how long before…" the young blond man's voice was drowned out by the loud tearing as part of the outer hull gave way and they all watched with wide eyes as the entire portion of the vessel simply tore away, imploding and folding in on itself like an invisible hand was scrunching up a paper Mache model.

"OK. Cool" Owen said randomly after a few minutes of shocked silence "Air lock holding?"

"Just to be safe… can we seal off this section on every level too?" Ianto said softly, finally letting Gwen hear his vowels and she swing to look at him as he addressed Jack "Call it silly but… it that happened that quickly… might a seal failure or a rupture in the airlocks in this section also cause that?"

"He's right ya know" John pointed at him "Will probably not happen, never heard of it happening but if there is to be a time when there is a secondary failure… it would probably be with us on board. We are all doomed ya know."

"See?" Owen pointed out to Jack "Told ha, even Mouthy Arse agrees."

"Well… we need to sweep that cargo bay with all those heat signatures then, it's in this section of the vessel, above us a few floors" John pointed up as he looked at Jack "I think we need to be serious here. Also… the more food and supplies we have in the front of the vessel near the secondary flight deck the better… if we have to cut and run, drop the elite load… we have enough to survive until we either reach land or get picked up. The entire forward section is set up like a giant lifeboat."

"What he said" Susie agreed.

"OK, Ianto, Owen, Andy is it? And Rhys, come on we will check out that cargo bay and see if it's passengers woken up or animals or something. It could be livestock ya know." Jack pointed out as John simply started to walk that way uninvited. Like… seriously… he is the one who suggested it so… he just went with the others who were heading towards the door.

"Poor things' Rhys rumbled with a shake of his head as he accepted a gun and looked at it dubiously.

"Know how to use it?" John asked.

"I did my basic two years of service as a lad" Rhys huffed hefting the gun and nodding.

"Come on… tally…. What." Jack sighed as he looked over at Gwen's pout.

"Sexist much?" she asked.

Jack rolled his eyes and sighed deeply "Well? Wanna come?"

"Thought you'd never ask" she giggled like a school girl skipping past him to snatch a gun from the table and look back over her shoulder with a wide grin showing the gap in her teeth….. BAMMMMMM … into the doorframe as she misjudged the door.

"Ouch" Owen said with an exaggerated pout "Got a boo-boo?"

"I'm fine" she leapt up and looked a little woozy as she shot out the door.

"Your other left" Ianto call out and John started to snigger softly as he looked at Ianto and winked.

.

.

"That is the wrong code for those doors" Ianto said for the third time as John ignored him, thumping the keypad with annoyance.

"Are you in?" Jack called from down the corridor where they could not open the secondary door either.

"IT IS THE WRONG CODE!" Ianto roared back. They stared at him as he took a breath and then said "It is Thursday, clicked over three hours ago. Thursday. Type in Thurs13"

"OH" John said as he complied and clapped as the door opened then yelped as something shot past.

A Verlop. A huge angry and incredibly panicked Verlop. Think a cross between a Tasmanian devil and a porcupine the size of a pig, the quills long and deadly as it slammed into the far wall then lay where it had collapsed panting and it's paw feebly kicking.

"OK… I did not expect that" Ianto said to John as they both stared at it, then each other.

"So…. He is alone? A stowaway?"

"No" Ianto replied as he peered into the darkened hold "They move in packs. If one ran out, they all would. No, its likely a pet from a holding cell. The other pets could be anything. We are in a livestock area."

"Oh joy… a hunt!" John said as he checked his weapon and grinned "going in hot!"


	7. oh baby

They were moving in formation, the compulsory military service all have to take in their youth ensured that in a crisis there was some modicum of order… apart from the mad mare who kept walking out and around a corner without her gun raised. Ianto did have to wonder if she skipped service somehow or her parents paid the under the table fee to have her placed somewhere safe… she had no idea what she was doing. She looked like Daddy's Little Girl, ya know?

"Dirty Harry" Jack said after a while "remember that historical movie? The old guy.. ' go ahead make my day… punk' you know… what was that weapon?"

"A midnight special? A long-barrelled .44 Magnum Smith and Wesson Model 29 revolver" Ianto replied "Nice gun. Your antique is nice too."

"Was my father's. Family heirloom" Jack replied long at it, "Only thing he ever gave me… apart from the great arse."

"Well…I was meaning to say…" Ianto ginned then the smile faded "Jack… turn around slowly, weapon raised."

Jack complied and started in the face of a Geril. A huge purple kangaroo the size of a grown man with fangs, orange eyeballs that look like they were from r a horror movie and talons on the paws of his arms that could gut a man where he stood.

It took moments to register that said claws were NOT clipped as per regulations for this exotic pet and the thing was not amused either.

"Shit"

Ianto fired, yelping as he rolled out of the way of a second one that had slammed into him from the side. Seems they also move in packs. Who has a fucking pack of them? The bullets were just pissing them off more… great!

More gunfire was heard and Ianto grabbled hold of Jack's arm as he hissed "We are by an outer hull wall. If a lone shot breeches that…"

"Fuck" Jack said in reply then bellowed "RETREAT!"

They ran.

.

.

They were trying to close the doors as they watched the others pile out of the other door down the corridor, everyone turning to do a head count and close the door but they were a beat too slow and Ianto could only callout a warning as a huge Geril flew out of the still closing doors and Suzie screamed as she fell, throwing her arms over her head as it attacked her.

John yelled and fired at it as the others locked the doors and once Ianto was sure Jack had their own locks engaged he pushed away and strode over to place the gun against the sill fighting animal's left air pit… firing until the gun was empty and it fell writhing on top of the still screaming woman.

"Their skulls are like titanium… bullet proof!" Ianto said to John like they were discussing the weather, Suzie struggling to slid out from underneath the body. "Only parts that are weak are the armpits' and the base of their tails."

"It's still moving" she finally snarled, half her body still pined as she glared up at them.

"He shot it in it's heart love" John said condescendingly "It's pretty fucked."

"I can feel it against my fucking leg!" she snarled.

"Oh shit." Ianto seized the body and struggled as Jack rushed over and helped roll it off Suzie. She stood and doubled over slightly winded as she continued to glare at the worthless fucker she was with.

John leered "What. I don't do garbage removal."

Ianto was feeling around and cursed "There is movement. Help me… these things are marsupials, right? Like the Old Earth ones that are extinct?"

"Fuck" Jack landed on his knees and they felt along its arms, legs… there. Under its belly was a fold and Ianto reached in, then yelped as he struggled and pulled a face. Jack grimaced "It bit you?"

"Ewwwwww… it has teeth down there?" John gasped. He then got a far away look that had Suzie commenting that he was a sick fucker.

Ianto pulled out a small baby and held it up as everyone watched with awe. Jack grinned "Looks fully formed, probably about three or four weeks away from reing out of the pouch. Awwww…. Look... it wants to eat you!"

Ianto tried to glare at Jack but he knew he couldn't pull it off as Jack grinned at him so he shrugged and rose, pulling his shirt forward to drop the thing the size of a kitten inside his shirt.

"Won't it latch onto your tit or something?" Owen asked with a serious face.

"Singlet" Ianto said as he reached out to retrieve his weapon from Jack who had picked it up off the floor with his own.

"If you lot are finished grab-arsing, we have a situation back her on the flight deck" Toshiko said calmly tough the coms and they wandered back that way with Rhys falling into step by Ianto.

"Can I have a look mate?"

Ianto opened a few buttons so Rhys could see the little thing curled around Ianto's waist, little paws tucked up under it's chin as it stared owlishly back.

"Ahhhhh."

"Don't' touch it" Gwen hissed as she yanked on Rhys's arm "Could be diseased."

"Worse, could be a female" Ianto uttered under his breath "another bitch might be two too many."

It was not until Rhys started to laugh softy as he walked away that Ianto released he had heard him. And seemed to agree.

Oops?


	8. how many?

They were hungry. To be expected. Usually a deep space flight always ended with a feast upon wakening and as they sat munching out on the stores Ianto pondered a few things out loud to Toshiko who seemed to be the numbers girl.

"So… looking around we have… what… twenty all up?"

"You, me, Jack, Owen, John, Suzie, Daisy, Kevin, Rhys, Gwen, Andy, Kathy, Jonah, the two who will not speak and I suspect were in the same pod given the size of them… are the Lizzerians?" Toshiko turned to look at two small lizard people the size of four year olds were clearly not happy with the situation "Greg who is a douche, Jamie who seems to be a chef given this food, Megan and Dane. That's… nineteen."

"And the one in the corner hiding behind the sofa… the small child" Ianto pointed and she gaped as she swung to stare at the sofa. Everyone slowly followed her gaze and Jack rose with one hand on the butt of his gun, looking at Ianto who mouthed 'child' so Jack seemed to wilt, cautiously moving forward to peer around the side of it, then his face softened.

"Ahhhh, hi. Hungry? Come eat something" he said and a small Catkind slid out, his little self still so young that although he walked upright his little hands were stubby fingered paws.

Ianto was smitten, as were several other people and it was Gwen who reached out to seize the Kat, trying to drag him onto her lap "come here fluffykins!"

Ears went back, teeth were displayed and before she knew it a little handful of claws raked around her face as he yowled with anger. Ianto grabbed the little one and placed him on a chair with a sandwich shoved at him, the little ears perking up as the little one smelt the sandwich then started to eat.

"Peanut butter. You know… that recipe is hundreds of years old" Ianto said to the little one conversationally "Milk?"

"Pwease" came a peanut butter filled reply.

"That thing attacked me!" Gwen roared with anger "that…that…"

"CHILD" Jack roared into her face, then cleared his throat and said in a more normal tone "that little Kat was only defending himself as you know dammed well they hate being picked up."

"It's OK sweetling" Ianto said softly "she is just clearly a dog person."

The little one snorted into his milk, his face pulling back with milk dripping from his whiskers. Ianto smiled as he felt some comfort in the fact he had someone to focus on. Ianto felt movement and patted his belly absently as he looked at the milk and tried to think.

"A glove" Owen said out of nowhere "We fill a glove with warm milk after we tied the fingers together and we prick the thumb with a needle. Let the little one suckle from it."

The Kat slowly swivelled his head to look at Owen in such a way that Owen leaned back.

"He doesn't mean you" Ianto said with amusement, "look."

He showed the little one the other child in the room and as the little Kat yowled with excitement Ianto turned to Owen and asked over the Kat's head "Any gloves?"

"In my kit" Owen said as he rummaged about and after a few minutes came back with one all ready to go "The milk… ah. Tosh… did you have that…. Oh."

"Toshiko had removed the little bag from her top and she shrugged "Boobs are for milk… warming it too right?"

"Perfect" Ianto said as he held the glove "Owen? Care to pour? Be mother?"

Owen was holding the bag as he stared at his woman then he grinned "Booby warmed… cool."

"Owen?"

"Sorry buddy" Owen laughed, filling the glove and then Ianto tied the end, fiddling around until the little one had hold of it and Owen leaned in to pull to the shirt and watch. Ianto didn't normally like close contact but didn't mind, letting Owen watch as the little one felt the glove with it's tiny paws then felt the dripping milk, squealing as it licked it's hand and then crammed the thumb into it's month.

"Look at that… well done Owen" Ianto said with glee.

"So…" Ianto looked back to Toshiko "Twenty of us. Enough supplies for… two months?"

"Now we are awake… yes. I have to crunch the numbers but you are pretty much right" she nodded.

"Ten weeks outside before we have to break into some other cargo holds and check them out" Ianto confirmed after thinking "We need the manifests to see if there is more food or water we do not have yet."

"Ten weeks… are you mad?" Gwen huffed loudly "we will be back in space dock within ten days!"

"We have four more months sleep-time before our designated port" Toshiko said to her with a frown "we have to deviate to the nearest one and claim an emergency to get docked at all! We have to try to save those still trapped in the damaged sections."

"We should just jettison the load, go faster" Gwen demanded.

"The load… you mean people?" Ianto said with incredulity "You mean… blast them into space to save ourselves when we might have enough power to get to safety and save them all? That load?"

Everyone stared at her as she looked around with confusion "What. They are not as important as us."

The crack of Daisy's hand across her face was SOOOO satisfying Toshiko didn't se the need to follow it through with her own.

Rhys facepalmed.


	9. what's this?

Gwen was silent as she watched them sort out the numbers for their possible return to space dock and the best possible flight plan to achieve this, her cheek smarting. Daisy was occasionally glancing at her but had stopped trying to hit her again and as she sat there she went over the look of shock and anger on each face that she had looked at for support over the attack.

She was attacked ya know, that woman is clearly hysterical and is a danger. Really.. she should be placed back in a pod or something, using precious air and resources when she is clearly….

"Gwen"

Gwen jumped, turning her head to find Jack staring at her "Jack?"

"Stop muttering, I can hear you" he said in a low tone then leaned in close "And the one causing the disruption is more likely to go back into stasis don't you think?"

Silence.

Ianto had opened his shirt to check on the little Roo. Yes, that was the decided name even it is was not a kangaroo at all, it seemed nicer to think of it as one somehow, the kids arguing that is was like a kangaroo… sort of. Ianto had to admit, Roo was a good name.

The little Kat was finally warmed up to Ianto and told him in a soft meow that his name was Fiord. Ianto found that both strange and lovely to think a little one was named after a body of water. Then he had to explained what a fiord was as the blank expression told him the Kat had no head what a fiord was, probably his parents didn't either. A word spoken in Galati Standard that they liked the roll of from their tongue. He seemed pleased to know the origin of it once Ianto was finished describing the beauty of the places he knew of called that.

"Imagine if they had called you Boggy… or heavens forbid… Latrine." He said, and then explained those as the little sweetling howled with mirth, his paws waving around as he yowled with teeth flashing. Such a cute little kitty that Ianto was rather smitten. They both chose not to comment on where his parentals might be.

It was clear that they had chosen one another and Jack was again struck with the way Ianto so easily handled things. Not fully human? He did seem to have a way about him that was… soothing.

.

..

"Hey" Jack said as he entered the pod room to find the four pods in the room partially unhooked, the lids removed and beds being made up. Ianto swung to face him and looked furtive, almost embarrassed as he waved a hand.

"We need to rest. Sudden awakening from hyper-sleep can be taxing and I have a feeling the Gods are not done with their games yet. So… beds?"

"Four. One for you, one for the kitty, one for me and…. Daisy?"

"Er… one for me, Roo and kitty, one for you, one for Daisy and one for Kevin." Ianto clarified "Daisy and Kevin are feeling discombobulated and right now we are the closest they have to a family or a unit. I know your team are all in this together too, and the others we have woken are great but… we need calm and maybe our own space to decompress. I understand if you don't want to…"

"I do" Jack said quickly "I never bunked with them, as their leader I needed to decompress too… yeah. Good idea."

They settled into respective pods like family waiting for hyper-sleep.

It was oddly comforting.

.

.

.

"You got a sec?"

Jack looked up from the grating he was yanking on, hoping to get down a level to check the internal wiring. "Yeah?"

Ianto led him along the corridor to the doors they had diligently sealed with enough sealant to save a boat from sinking. Jack slowed as he gaped "What the fuck?"

"I know" Ianto said softly as they watched Daisy adjust a candle moments before she reached out to light it.

"Daisy… you will set of the sprinklers" Ianto said softly and her hand hesitated, a sob escaped and she nodded, placing the matches down again as she continued to build the shrine to her family who were inside the cargo bay.

"How long has he been doing this?" Jack asked with interest.

"No idea… Gwen came and commented about it to Owen, I followed her back. It's not just Daisy, a couple of the others are off hunting for things too." Ianto sighed, rubbing his neck. He did this a lot and Jack now knew it was a sign of distress.

"What do we do?" Jack asked.

"Well… it's giving them purpose, reinforcing their families are in there… waiting for them… this is not a memorial.. more like… we are here… ya know? As long as they are calm, out of the way and not endangering us… does it matter?" Ianto shrugged after considering for a few moments.

"Yeah" Jack nodded his agreement, Ianto was right.

This was a sign of hope. As long as they believed their loved ones were alive, something they all hoped for, there would be a sense of calm.

They just had to keep them locked into that hope.


	10. honesty?

Three days later, the flight pattern seemly calmed and Toshiko now in control of the bird, the path set into the auto pilot so far flying true, they were all a little more relaxed. The engines were OK, one a mild retarded and they were watching it but hopeful. Even if it failed, they had three more right?

"So… it's been a week. What do we do to celebrate?" Owen clapped his hands together at the breakfast table "come on. A week… our first week anniversary."

"Why Owen, I had no idea you cared" John said with a wide grin "What is it traditionally for the first week? Paper? Space Rations? Anyone? Suzie love?"

"I don't know… after all… he's worn the same socks for a week too!" she replied.

"Hang on… there are plenty of socks in the clothing room we set up!" Ianto frowned at him.

"These are my lucky socks!" Owen declared, pointing at his feet.

"but… you were not wearing them in the pod when we woke you!" Ianto frowned at the weird logic.

Fiord was sniffing at him with his little nose screwed up, his whiskers back to show disgust as Owen grinned, wriggling his foot at him. Then Fiord froze, his little kitty head swivelling to stare out the door, down the corridor as he straightened up with a look of horror.

Then came a distant scream.

.

.

"Just calm down" Gwen demanded, laying on the woman who was struggling beneath her, still crying hysterically.

"What happened" Owen yelled as he slid to their side, struggling with his bag of tricks to find a sedative.

"She just went nuts" Gwen grunted, the woman bucking as she found another level of anger.

"She told her they was deaded in there" Fiord said in a stage whisper "Said to stop being stoopid. Is my Mama deaded?"

Jack sighed as Daisy felt the needle slide in and cried out, her writhing slowly stalling out as she lay weeping under the woman who was triumphantly telling everyone she did what she could to stop her from breaking the seals.

"We need to tie her up, she could have killed us all" Gwen said as she stood up and adjusted her top.

Suzie swung, sending Gwen flying back to slam into the wall.

"You bitch" Ianto said with venom, looking at the poor woman now curled in a ball as she wept for her family beyond the doors "why. Just… why."

"Come on… let's get her somewhere to sleep this off" Owen rose and Jack carried Daisy back to her pod where she curled up still weeping softly.

"I don't know what to do" Ianto admitted as he turned to face Jack "I… I … just make her go away for a while, can you? I don't' want to hurt anyone but... I will take her head off if I have to look at her right now."

Jack nodded, heading out to move Gwen to somewhere safer… for everyone.

.

.

"How is she?" Toshiko asked as she stepped into the room, finding Ianto sitting with the Kat in his lap watching over her. "Where is the little one?"

"In my pod, he has a pair of my socks rolled up and is wrapped in my shirt" Ianto said softly, rubbing the Kat's ears absently. Toshiko walked over and peeked in to see a single little paw visible in the mess of fabric.

"They grow so big and deadly."

"As do many things born gentle" Ianto relied sagely.

"I have an idea but I don't know if I can sell it to the others" she said motioning for him to step outside. Ianto placed the Kat in the chair and told him to watch over the poor mama. He followed her out of the corridor.

"The Service Bots" she said as she tapped her finger on a tablet "If we can get a few of them awake, we can send them out an airlock, along the fuselage and into the hole if it's big enough to check for the pod's life signs."

"Shit" Ianto considered "might work but we need to see if they will fire up without the primary flight deck engaged."

"That' s my worry, or when we spit them out they fly off into the black as we are going too fast but if we slow down…"

"We don't tell them. You pull in your team, don't tell the passengers. If it doesn't work they will never know… if you get in there and there are no life signs… they never know" Ianto whispered frantically.

"And if there ARE life signs… we celebrate and let that bitch know next time we will tie a rope to her and send her out to check!" Toshiko snarled.

"You know. I don't know if anyone ever told you… but you are pretty smart for a girl" Ianto said, her eye widening for a moment before she started to giggle, smacking at him as he squealed and yelled for mercy.

.

.

"There you are, I wanted a quiet word alone."

Gwen looked up as he entered the room and she rose to greet him, defiantly raising her head to meet his eyes. She went to speak but he raised a hand as he did instead.

"You know… I am on this crappy flight to a dead end job for the betterment of my family." Ianto said as he canted his head and stared into her eyes "My sister and her children rely on me to send home my pay checks, that when joined with her husband's death benefits is what keeps them afloat. You know… I am worth more to them dead. Did you know that? If this fails, if we all die… she will get more than I can make in ten years. Imagine that Gwen … if we all die… I will have fulfilled my wish to save my family. Now take a moment… hold onto that thought."

Ianto leaned in close so their noses were almost rubbing and hissed "So the only thing stopping me form breaking that seal myself is my affection for everyone else on this bird. The moment I decide this is too hard… you people are too fucking annoying and I am ready to die... who can stop me from taking you all with me? Hmmmm?"

Her eyes bugged out as he stared at her long and hard then said "Thought so. You don't think much at all do you. So… shut the fuck up, smile and nod, get on with it and maybe… maybe the self-destruct sequence I have in my brain here will not be punched into the system's mainframe to enact it."

Ianto then slid back around the door to find John standing in the corroder, having heard everything.

"OK… I admit it" John said as he watched Ianto stand staring back, his chin ticked in and a feral glare as he eyeballed John back "You are more interesting than I first thought. There is much more to you than first shown, isn't there!"

"That's what they all say" Ianto smiled disarmingly, then wandered off, leaving John to laugh softly as he shook his head.

That was one hell of a move.

.

.

sprained wrist makes this slower guys... sorry


	11. bots

Ianto found Toshiko in one of the storage rooms, slipping in to lock the door behind himself "Well?"

"Three. I found three that I can fire up without having to wait for a reboot and charge… they were ready in case of emergencies" she replied.

"Well, I don't know about you but I concur… this makes that grade" he hissed and she grinned, then looked around as she fingered the controls. Ianto considered, then opened the door, reaching out and seized the shirt of the one standing outside trying to listen, dragging him in and relocking the door as John Hart stood there with surprise.

"Right… here is the play. We have three working bots that are currently in the outer service hold. We want to creep them along the hull, hoping they don't lose traction and fly off, find the breach and sneak into the room, check the pods and find traces of life. IF and John, this is a big IF we do find proof those pods are still working we show everyone what we have done and relieve their minds. If we find what we all morbidly think we will… we NEVER let on that we did this and we continue the illusion of hope." Ianto said slowly, calmly and all with one breath.

"Clever" John nodded "You needed me for the third controller."

"And because you will keep your mouth shut if need be" Ianto added moving back by Toshiko, "Come on, fast and nasty."

"Oh sweetie… singing my song" John chuckled as he settled and soon the darkened room was silent as they sat with their VR goggles over their faces in the world of bots.

.

.

Ianto Bot was sliding along maintaining three of the four connectors on the hull, Toshiko Bot trying the same but one kept disengaging. "Fuck it all to the seventh rell."

"Potty mouth" John Bot said as he stopped his own movement to wave the raised leg like a stupid idiot and felt slippage, yelling as he slammed it back down.

"Cut it out" Ianto Bot scolded, raising his camera lens to look out over the black to the distant stars "Look. That's where we came from… back there is all we left behind. We almost slept through this."

The Bots stood on their four spindly legs for a moment or two, the grandeur of the place sinking in then Toshiko Bot said softly "I see fuselage floating ahead, still partially attached."

"Go around it, seek a clean edge. If it's too hard to step over we might lose footing and slip." Ianto Bot advised, turning his lens to John Bot "also… I have a ponderance if you can assist me John."

"Is that a sexual thing?"

"No. Sorry… much more vexing than an itch… I want to try to get visuals of the damage… I want confirmation this was a meteor hit… it still feels so weird that the alarm system did not pick up incoming." Ianto Bot said as they gingerly moved aroid the slashed damage "And the other question I have is… why so much burst out? Do we not implode in space?"

"Only in the movies" Toshiko Bot replied "If it was a small tear, a hole the size of a fist, the sudden depressurization would have torn anything and everything through the hole, enlarging it and causing the fold back of the edges."

"Right." Ianto Bot nodded "Thanks. Things like that… shit. Good work Toshi, yes. John? Can you reach that?"

The John Bot teetered as Ianto Bot reached out one foot to shove and John Bot unceremoniously found himself floating into the darkened interior of the hull work, squealing as he shifted in his seat, deploying the little mini thrusters in an attempt to move further into the interior while hitting his light button to illuminate around the mid body of the small bot the size of a shoe box.

They all watched intently as he turned in a slow arc.

"OK… so… no damage to the interior wall" Ianto muttered to himself "One more turn please John before you approach a pod."

John complied then Toshiko Bot was sailing in thanks to Ianto Bots' kick, him following less politely by hooking onto her back leg.

"You are pretty good at this, dexterity is great" Toshiko Bot said conversationally.

"I did basic training on one of these… a larger model for the Militarial Tanks. I love toys" Ianto Bot replied sagely and she grunted.

"What did you do your physical service as?" John Bot asked.

Ianto did not answer, just turned his Bot to face John Bot. John found it unnerving that even in VR he felt the glare and he grinned, wondering if Ianto could feel that as well. After the two Bots spent a moment floating in front of one another, Ianto Bot finally said "Grunt."

John did not believe him, not fully but knew a warning when he felt one wafting off the man in the chair next to him, the weaves of anger almost making him remove his goggles to glance over.

"Life!" Toshiko Bot said suddenly, the glee as her legs waved about making the other two Bots move to pods to check as well.

"Green…..greeen… greeeeeeeeeeen" John Bot sang as he floated past each Pod.

"Same" Ianto Bot confirmed as he checked a few as well "Stop while we are ahead. If one of us finds a Red we will have to…."

"Agreed" a new voice cut in that was instantly recognizable. Jack demanded in a low tone "Get those things back to their containment cupboards and get your arses to the Flight Deck!"

The three Bots all floated to stare at one another than to Toshiko Bot's amusement Ianto Bot shrugged. Legs moving up and down as John Bot started to snigger softly.

Ianto Bot then said "Find a pod leg and attach then power down, I am NOT risking them for a space walk back after that trouble to get them there. Nope… I am all out of fucks there people."

With mutinous giggling the other two agreed.

Then they went to face the wrath of the Captain.


	12. Owen feels violated

John stood with his arms folded, his anger wafting off him like a bad small that had Ianto's final steps faltering.

"What the fuck were you doing" Jack demanded.

"Creeping" John replied sagely, then grinned "You don't know do you! Secondary flight deck does not have a patch into our the VR link."

Ianto felt relief as he realized Jack thought they were just playing with the Bots. All he would have seen in the flight deck were the lights on the board to show three service bots active. He thought they were fooling about. Ianto let the other two talk, standing well back as Toshiko was next to defend them "We each took a bot out to check the hull damage, inside the room with the life pods to check for signs of life."

Jack's arms fell from in front of his chest a he gaped at them "Are you serious? What if we lost one, what if they didn't work and what if… god forbid you make it… they are all dead in there?"

"But they are not!" John said with triumph, a little jig on the balls of his feet for emphasis "each pod we checked was super green lit with the emergency protocols in place, life signs intact!"

"Really?" Jack looked between them with surprise "Bullshit… really?"

"Yes. We did it covertly so if it was a negative result the others would not know and… we could keep the illusion alive as Ianto put it… but they ARE. Jack… they ARE alive in there, we can give her hope. Real hope. The footage can be played for the others, we can show them… there is a chance of us all getting to space dock." Toshiko said with glee and jack finally looked past the two talking to the third one who stood back regarding Jack with his chin ticked in, that look Jack knew well as he had watched it employed a few times when everyone else was busy.

Contemplation.

"So? What do you think Ianto?"

"What she said."

Toshiko giggled "You know... he is very sneaky too… could have been on our team."

"I do not doubt that." Jack sighed, "OK… set it up and … we are all one team now."

They nodded as turned to leave, Ianto holding Jack's gaze a moment or two longer before exiting as well and Jack felt a weird sensation of pulling. It took him a second to realize Ianto was calling to him.

What?

.

.

They were all watching the video footage from the VR walk as seen by Toshiko's Bot. As they got to the fuselage she explained to them the dangers for the bot right now, making it an educational thing as everyone watched.

At the back of the 'class' Jack was whacking Ianto as he leaned forward examining the screen intently and he knew Ianto was not looking at whatever she was pointing at but at something else on the screen, his frown deep as he then leaned back and drummed his fingers, then he rose and left the room with Jack following quietly.

Ianto was raising the VR goggles for her Bot to look into the small screen as Jack came up behind him "What is it? What did you see?"

"She was at a different angle to me, I saw but dismissed it but… from her angle… it is more apparent." Ianto handed him the goggles and Jack looked down at the spot the video was paused on. He frowned as he stared at it, and then looked up at Ianto with confusion.

.

.

They were celebrating. Daisy was singing softly as she wiped her face, crying with joy as she accepted a drink and Gwen sat back with a sullen look as she was proven wrong. Rhys shot her occasional threatening glances as he tried to comfort Daisy's delighted crying now.

Toshiko, John, Suzie and Owen had followed Jack from the room at his silent hand signal when he had returned and now they stood as Ianto placed the two different VR videos next to one another on the wall. Playing them to the spot he wanted paused. He then retrieved John's and played to it's pause, superimposing all three so the image of the hole in the hull was complete.

Toshiko asked "What is that? There?"

"Grappling holes" Ianto replied as he moved to tap the wall where three symmetrical marks were next to the hull breach.

"Why the fuck would they be there? You can't pull her around in space dock with a tug from that spot on the hull!" John said with a snort. "Besides… there are no skin tags for that, they would have to punch into the….skin…"

Owen grunted as he rose from his seat "Fuck. How many?"

"No idea… we need to wake all the Bots and check for signs of infiltration to know how bad this is." Ianto said without turning around, still staring at the screen.

"What?" Suzie asked. "What am I missing here?"

"Babe… someone broke in. Not simple meteor storm… this was an advanced and premeditated hit. We were boarded. See those marks? Someone fired at us, hooked their vessel to us and then… slid along the ropes to there, blew the side of the vessel and entered" John said slowly to her "If the flight deck was taken out, the crew's cabin area... they targeted anyone and everyone they thought could stop this bitch form moving in the direction they wanted. Not meteors… phaser blasts."

"But we are awake. An unforeseeable thing and now they are on board… we are moving about and they are not sure if they should kill us too or see where we take them… bit it is clear we have hitchhikers somewhere on this boat. Stowaways." Jack huffed. "Fucking pirates."

"Wait! WE are the pirates!" Owen said with anger "Those fuckers are trying to hijack US?"

"Which is why they have not done anything. They are as confused as we are right now" Ianto rose from his seat and turned to face them "The real question is... how long before they decide to vent us into space like the flight crew?"

"The moment they work out how…" Toshiko answered as she looked around "We're gonna be screwed.."


	13. rats in the ceiling?

Toshiko was scanning, her mouth in a thin line as her eyes flicked across multiple screens. Ianto was pacing in the background as he went over things, trying to work out where they might be as he rubbed the back of the little Geril and hummed mindlessly.

We checked everything and everywhere so where the fuck are they!" Owen said as he turned to talk to John "you know… they might have been sucked out when they miscalculated their charges."

"More likely they are what terrorized the animals and made them attack us like that" John replied.

"Bullshit… can't be… different holds." Owen countered with a sneer in John's face that instead of annoying him like it would a normal person, made John laugh and pat Owen's head like a proud parental.

Ianto had stopped pacing and was staring into space as he chewed over that conversation.

"Where could they be… we are scanning the holds and cargo bays… we know they are not in those and if they are in those ones sealed off they are fucked so… where could they…" Ianto stopped muttering and his hands stopped clicking fingers at his sides, making Suzie aware of the sudden silence and she turned her head to look at him, watching as his yes slowly tracked up to the ceiling and the ventilation system's grating.

He slowly walked over until he was under it and looked directly up at it, one hand softly fingering the seam of his pants as he frowned and she caught the train of thought he was having, rising slowly to pull a gun for the table where John was cleaning them while playing with Owen.

John noticed her moving and looked over at her "Lover?"

Suzie did not answer, but stepped over bedside Ianto raising her weapon towards the vent. John stalled out, and then he rose and looked around the room before storming over to swipe everything off another table and drag it over under the vent "Move. Here, on this."

Suzie and Ianto let him move the table under the vent then Suzie jumped on the table and reached up to push against the grate with her riffle's muzzle. By now everyone as watching including Jack who walked slowly over to reach out, hooking Ianto by his jacket and pulling him gently back from the table as John now climbed up and got on all fours to let Suzie step up onto his back.

She pushed the grating up and then nervously reached out a hand, Owen silently slapping a torch into it and she tried to see into the space without getting too close. She shook her head and Ianto seized Jack's arm as he watched with wide wyes. Suzie reached up into the space as she moved the grating away and took a deep breath and then to everyone's surprise she simply shot up into the space, John leaping up to follow her.

Toshiko was watching their life signs on screen and called out that they were OK as thumping told everyone the two were moving off in opposite directions along the venting system. It was a short time later that faint banging had Jack pushing Ianto aide and leaping on the table as Owen threw a gun at him and Ianto sighed as he clambered onto the table.

Ianto removed the baby Geril, hanging it back to Toshiko who blinked with alarm. Ianto then scooped up a handful of ammo and started to fill his pant pockets.

"Oi, what the hell are you doing?" Owen demanded with shock.

"I told you I did my service" Ianto said as he removed his jacket and flicked it aside to reveal a waistcoat, then rolled his sleeves "I was a grunt. I was a sweeper for the ground crews."

"Wait… you were a gunner!" Owen said then John threw a weapon at him, watching Ianto snap it with his wrist so effortlessly that he was clearly a natural. Then Ianto was gone.

"Well fuck me… a Gunner." Owen said softly "And he survived a full tour."

"Only one in twenty survive" Toshiko agreed "He is either a coward or a bloody dead shot."

"And I know which one I would go for" Owen said as he looked up at the hole then held out a hand "Give me a gun sweetie… just in case."

.

.

The inside of the shaft was almost six feet high, allowing a tall man to run if you ran hunched over. Ianto moved towards the sound of shouting and gunfire, rounding a corner to find Jack crouched as he fired and three men standing there behind what must be a shield firing back. Clearly this was not working so Inot reached in to his back pocket and removed the little glass bottle from his back pocket he had left over from feeding the Geril and threw it with all his strength at a corner of the screen, the force making it tip back and Jack fired under the opposite corner that had exposed an ankle.

The man fell screaming and the other two could not hold the shield, ceasing fire as they struggled to lift the shied and Ianto ran past Jack in the few second that had created a ceasefire, slamming into the shied as he fired over it with abandon.

Jack rose with his mouth open, John panting as he lay to one side with a hand over his thigh and an open mouth as well.

Ianto lay panting on top of the shield and he groaned rolling to his side then getting his knees under himself as Jack shook himself free of his shock, reaching out to help Ianto to his feet and Ianto staggered back to lean against the wall and shake the empty shells from his weapon, reaching into his pocket to reload. He stared back at Jack and raised his eyebrows "What?"

"OK... seriously… we need to keep him Jax!"


	14. body count

"There were four of them… three you got and the one Suzie found. We have swept the remaining vents and there is no sign of any others, we also counted the weapons and the survival gear they had… we are confident there were only four that made it on board" Toshiko reported as she watched Owen tend to John's thigh. "Owen?"

"John has a flesh wound and Ianto has a hard fucking head" Owen muttered as he worked "Oh yeah… and Suzie broke a nail."

"It was a good nail… almost the longest ever" she sighed holding out her hand.

"What was going on this time!" Gwen demanded as she stormed into the room "We are sick of being told to.. oh my god. Who shot him!"

She swung to stare at Ianto who was still unloading a gun. She took a deep breath and went to scream at him but Ianto to beat her to it "I suggest you belay that next comment or I will shoot you next. I am rather annoyed today."

Silence.

Then Owen started to giggle softly as he lowered his head to rest against John, the wounded man laughing openly as he pointed at Ianto "that sounded so… mad."

"Maybe I am mad…quite insane… I am ex-militarial and I am the one with the gun" Ianto said, then he glared at Gwen "So… fuck off now pet."

Gwen's mouth opened then closed and Daisy who had settled in the corner of the sofa with the baby Geril and the Kat started to smother her laughter in into the Kat's fur. Gwen turned on her heel and stormed off.

"Go after her" Ianto said as he closed the weapon and armed it "She is about to tell them goddess knows what shit."

"Fuck" Suzie rose and walked out with a gun against her thigh as she called back over her shoulder, "He's right. I might have to shoot her."

"No fair" Ianto sighed "Why do girls have all the fun?"

By the time Suzie had returned John was on his feet and eating messily at the table that still his boot prints on it. Ianto was on the sofa with the kat cuddling him as the Geril slept in Daisy's arms, her face full of love for the little monster.

"I don't know about anyone else but I am done" Jack finally said as he sat back in his chair, looking up at John who was absently licking his fingers "I am ready for bed. I was wondering, should we have a night watch? Just in case some other madness develops somewhere?"

"Can't hurt" John agreed "I will sort some sort of roster to swap out every few hours, make sure they all get sleep then and stay frosty"

"I like that idea too" Ianto yawned as he motioned the little ones "Maybe you two need to have the smaller pod, the kicking claws are not great for me."

"Well… my pod is large enough for two and I sleep like the dead" Jack said then he blinked as he seemed surprised at himself. "I won't wriggle too much."

"You sleep naked."

"So?"

Ianto smiled softly as he shook his head then whispered "such a horn dog."

"Woof" Jack panted and everyone laughed.

"Not until we are in a space port and safe, everyone seen to and a lock on the door. Then… maybe then… I will fuck you into the mattress and leave you for dead… until then… undies at least!" Ianto said as he waltzed form the room leaving Jack's mouth gaping open with shock.

"I really like him" John said to no one on particular, "got spunk."

"A keeper" Owen agreed "have I not been saying so?"

.

.

Ianto was investigating the body of one of the stowaways, checking pockets as Jack slid along the wall to watch, interested in the manner of Ianto's thought processes. This man moved like a military man, talked like a civvy but there was something else… something in the way his mind worked that was so dammed intriguing.

"I grew up on Old Earth" Ianto said as he rose, "In the gutter with the other little Hoodlums. Militarial services were a case of do this or go to prison for a few years… same difference but I would rather die killing something that sitting in a little cell so… that is how I got my stripes."

"Stripes" Jack said then realized Ianto knew he was chewing on him. He was explaining to help Jack move on from the indecision. Trusting him.

"Yeah… I was a lieutenant" Ianto turned to face Jack, the two of them finally alone on this vessel. "I know how to fly these things… not well and not gracefully but I did my fair share of tank warfare to know which way to ram something. I was part of the Wolverines."

"Ahhhhh…." It all made sense now as Jack's face lit up, his grin enormous as he heard the name for the elite mercenaries sent in for extractions and kill missions. He knew it well… had been part of a brother group called the Jackals. Where he first met John.

"Anything else you feel you should tell me?"

"Yes" Ianto turned to look down at the bodies "These men are from our side of the paddock. One has the Agency tattoo on his arm to mark him as infantry. Let's check the others. These are not pirates. This was an extraction gone wrong."

"Bullshit" Jack said as he knelt to check and saw that Ianto was right, the large A in a circle like an anarchy sign was pure Agency. He should know, one sat on his own forearm as a form of ownership, like a fucking brand given to elite teams. "Fuck."

"Yeah… the real question now is… who were they after?"

"No… the secondary team sent in if the first one fails.. the sweepers sent to blow the fucking thing to smithereens if there is a failure to extract" Jack said with growing horror "That is our real problem."

Ianto rose then tapped his leg "Fives. They move in fives. My team was always five… yours?"

Both men now knowing the real threat was that they could only account for four.

Somewhere on board… somewhere there was still a mercenary loose hunting someone. Mission still active.

But who?


	15. fives... always fives right?

"If you told me what you were looking for I might be able to help more" Toshiko said as she watched Ianto and Jack go over screeds of names scrolling across the screen, clicking on them randomly then muttering as they both shook their heads.

"We want to know what they were after" Jack finally said distractedly, "Checking the passenger manifest."

"Don't' you mean the cargo?" John frowned as he looked over at Suzie, her face changing as she rose from her chair. Owen looked up from the weapon he was fiddling with to watch as Suzie stood behind the two men next to John, her hands behind her back as she and John watched the screen over the men's shoulders.

"That one?" Jack muttered, clicking it and they stared.

"No… he is a digger. Looks like mineral mining" Ianto said as he clicked a few passenger files, "Damn it, looks like an entire mining crew in there… maybe we eliminate those from the same port? Maybe it's someone from another port, look for someone entering late or singular?"

"Hmmmm." Jack squinted at his screen "Theris Delta?"

"Did we stop there? Damn, I was already down" Ianto leaned in "We did. Look at that. We picked up two… fuck. They look like big spenders, paid the premium. Idiots, they do know we all travel together right?"

"I will never get over that, those that pay more for superior service when we all sleep in the pods in the same fucking room. Do they want their pods cleaned or something?" Jack huffed.

"We need to look… these are in the clear zone. Do we wake them?" John asked. "Seems whoever it was, they knew which side of the boat to rupture.''

Ianto grunted, his fingers fiddling with his pant leg as he glanced at Jack who grimaced and said "Ah… let's just sweep the area first."

"Sweep?" Owen repeated.

"Ianto is from the Wolverines. They were a pack of five. I am from the Jackals, a pack of five. This lot of interlopers … thy are Agency Pack, like us. Tell me Suzie… how many did we bag and tag?" Jack asked.

"Four."

"What is a standard number for an active Agency Pack?"

"Fuck" she swung to John with alarm "The others are spread all over the place… we need to bring them all into one area to keep an eye on them"

"Unless we can strip each one down and check their arm for an Agency Brand we might be welcoming in the fucking Rat" Jack muttered as he tapped his finger to his top lip. "alone, last man standing, hiding in the mob would be my idea."

"Set off the sprinklers in the section they have bunked down in" Ianto shrugged "Force them this way, we will be so alarmed for their safety. Give them clothing, help them change into dry things… act angry with the bloody system. Who is left dripping? Or not in the same clothing as we had out from the crew lockers? I am guessing one."

"Oooooo….likey, likey!" John chortled "either undress and try to hide it or simply stand there for all the worlds to see."

"They will have some idea leady… maybe something to hide it, or they will try to evade us and not come here with the others… either way we will know those we watched change their clothing will be clean skins… all that leaves is one either standing right there like a retard or… hiding in the remaiind arse of the vessel."

"We lock down the ones we want to protect, go hunting for the Rat" Suzie juggled on her feet with glee at the thought of a real Rat Hunt.

"Personally, I agree with you Suzie, I would love a good old fashioned hunt" Ianto said softly as he smiled at her, "but let's try this first. The longer this one is loose the longer he has to try and find a way to their target. When he does… is it a bullet into the pod? Or he explodes the hull… that will kill all of us."

"Also, the longer it takes the more likely the Agency is to think they failed and send in the second wave" John guessed and they all looked around at one another with undisguised horror.

"Well… let's get them wet" Owen clapped his hands tighter and turned to John "Well? You said you can get anyone wet… go for it."

"Cheeky little shit" John crooned as he patted Owen's cheek lovingly "So mouthy!"

"Toshiko, you and Daisy sort the clothing, be the ones handing it out with faces of condolence" Ianto pointed then looked at them for a second more with his finger still crooked out, then he closed his hand and made a soft noise in his throat, heading out after Jack.

He had thought of something else, something he did not like and Kevin followed him out "Boy"

"Kevin, help the girls will you? What the kids" Ianto asked.

"You had one of your brain farts… I saw it."

"Could be just that… nothing."

"Or something?"

"Hmmmm" Ianto sighed with annoyance "Or something else."

Kevin did not like the sound of that and he frowned as he watched Ianto head after Jack with the air of someone needing something.

Whatever Ianto had suddenly thought, it was not good and if he was running true to form… most likely the scenario they had to face next.


	16. i see you

They did not like being wet, not at all.

As they stood shivering and complaining John quietly slid around looking at them and could not see anyone with a brand or a bandage, scar or Binding to hide one. The fact Ianto did not seem surprised by this was the thing that struck him the most, that and the way Jack was so calm as he agreed it was likely the fifth one was not in the wet bedraggled group of complainers.

"We are going to dock soon" Jack said and the team turned to him with matching looks of confusion. They were nowhere near a dock… what the hell was he doing? "We managed to contact a freighter that can take us into her cargo bay, we can then pressurize and get out."

Some cheered as others looked confused, looking around as Kevin leaned forward to poke Ianto's arm "boy? What are you up to?"

"Just beating the bushes" Ianto replied gently "You know… flushing out the prey."

The old man settled back again to watch as Jack told a fanciful yarn about their docking procedures and the sounds and things to expect while they were being rescued.

"I… I need to check I look presentable for my family" Daisy said as she rose and took off for the shared room, the little ones snuggled in their pod having a snooze as they ignored the carry-ons and Ianto walked in to find her reaching into the pod.

"Daisy… let's leave them. When we dock I will come in to stay with them in case they are scared" Ianto said calmly and she withdrew her hand, looking at him with surprise as she nodded. He watched her leave the room and leaned against the pod, looking down at the little ones with raw affection before reaching in to move the blankets around them.

.

.

John swung around the corner, his gun leading the way and Suzie swung around him to slam into the opposite wall as they swept the corridor with extreme excitement…er… malice. Jack walked calmly after them and he tuned to see John swing into a room, Suzie covering the doorway as John called back "Clear."

They continued on as Owen and Toshiko stayed with the others trapped in the same room, food on the go as well as Owen telling some fanciful stories about past exploits where he seemed to be the one who saved them time after time, Toshiko's eye rolling telling them all it was more likely the Captain but … Owen seemed to be so sure of himself.

Everyone was pumped, ready for the next step as they were led to the room with the emergency docking seats in case the 'sleepers' were awake for this part and as they were strapped in Daisy looked to Ianto "the babies."

"I will be with them." Ianto said calmly, looking over at Jack who had already begun to walk towards the secondary flight deck.

"But… are they strapped in?" she asked "I will go check it the pod is closed."

She rushed from the room as Gwen harangued everyone into their seats and made out she was in charge, Ianto more than happy to let her rant and control the room as he headed after Daisy. He found her in the room staring down at the two babies, both still sleep curled up with the Kat's whispers twitching now and then as he dreamed.

"Just close the pod, come on" Ianto said gently from the doorway as he watched her wring her hands.

"Soon… soon it will all be over" she whispered.

"Your family will be here, you will see your husband and children again" Ianto smiled as he reached out a hand "Come on love. Coe sit with me and tell me their names again. Leo and Hailey was it?"

"Yes…yes…" she turned to leave, then hesitated, glancing back one more time "you are sure they will be OK?"

"Daisy… it's time to let it go" Ianto said more sternly now "come along. We are to be done with this, soon this vessel will be swarming with Agency men helping up reacclimatize to the more standardized gravity of a larger freighter."

Daisy stared at him for a while, her hands still wringing and Ianto sighed "Really… let's not do this here. With the little ones so close, come… let's go to the corridor and you can check the seals with me for your family, we are so close."

They walked amicably along the corridor to the doors covered with sealant and she reached out to place her hand on the door "I… can I have a moment?"

"Sure" Ianto smiled, reaching out to squeeze her arm before wandering off as she watched him leave then looked back at the door, taking a moment before she took off running for the room.

She slid into the room and headed for the closed pod the kids were asleep in, her face full of raw expectation as she reached out to open the lid. The sound of a Sonic Blaster coming on-line had her turning slowly to stare at Jack who stood in the corner of the room with the weapon raised "Looking for your gun in there Soldier? Ianto already found it for you!"


	17. anarchy

Daisy chuffed softly as she deflated, looking at the doorway that was now full of Ianto and John, both men with weapons of their own.

"Come away" Ianto said calmly "It is done now."

"Not until I say so" she snarled and she reached for her waist but Jack fired, sending her slamming back into the far wall, her face full of shock as she slid down the wall and Ianto ran to her, crouching to pull back her sleeve and reveal the brand.

"Well… fuck" John said with a shake of his head "I half-pie hoped we were wrong."

"Why it was set to stun" Jack sighed, turning the pulse gun sideways to flip the switch to kill mode before aiming it at the woman once more.

"Daisy… if that is even your name… why? Why were you here?" Ianto asked gently "We are Agency too… look."

Ianto pulled his sleeve and she stared at his Brand with wide eyes, then she frowned "But… we were told… I don't understand."

"I was a Wolverine. Jack and John there were both Jackals. We are Agency as well, if you had said there was a mission we might have been more accommodating… mind you… the whole … blowing up half the ship thing… not good." Ianto huffed, rising to his feet, leaning against the wall as the others relaxed as well.

"Helix… he misjudged the charge" she rose shakily to her feet and looked at them "Wry are not docking are we?"

"Who were you after!" Jack demanded.

"The Phoenix is on board, we had word that he was here and we were sent to seek and destroy" she said as she looked at the men and Ianto took a physical step back with open confusion.

"The Phoenix. Come on… that man has died so many times… like a cat with those lives" John laughed "Almost as many as Jack here has slipped though. You don't even know what he looks like!"

"Ageless" she said defiantly "He has Boeshane blood, like the Captain here. He is several hundred years old but does not look it… we were told he would be alone. He would be in a room on his own and his Brand would be visible through the thin paper of the overalls!"

"The Brand!" John said "Like… ours?"

"He is one of the originals. Yes. His brand is different to ours, one of the first Brands… it held more than the A in a circle… it also had the small paw print to symbolise the treaty with the Catkind." She said and Jack lowered the gun to stare at her, considering the things he knew, did not know and now had learned. His eyes slid to Ianto who was still staring at her as she held his gaze.

"So… why kill him? He was a loyalist, right?" John frowned "What did he do to piss off the Agency?"

"Good question" Ianto said blandly, his face changing got pure anger "Come on… what did they tell you? What was worth the lives on board?"

"He bred. Banned as you know... he bred and his daughter then went on to have two children of her own… one of them male. It is his Grandson that is the danger. We have to take him out before we can take out the boy. He has thrown pure Dagone… we saw the latest tests on him and he is dangerous, as if not more so than his Grandfather and we know that this boy is capable if not only controlling the dissidents the Agency fears, he is already showing signs of leadership." She stopped talking as Jack blinked slowly and John tined to look at him.

"Kill the Phoenix, force them out of hiding for the memorial service… then kill them all." John sighed, " classic death bait. Is she talking about… you grandson Steven? No… you have the same brand as me!"

"David. She talks of David." Ianto said softly as he tore at his sleeve, ripping it from the seam at the shoulder to revel his entire Brand, the small paw print visible that theirs lacked. "My daughter Rhiannon… she is part Harbinger. She bred with a man who is also part Harbinger, part Catkind and also a drop of Dragone. Mix that with my bloodline and you have a dangerous future challenger."

"You… you are the Phoenix. Bullshit!" John snorted then his smile faded as Jack looked at him silently. "You knew?"

"Worked it out" Jack croaked "It all made sense all at once. Of course I am attracted to him, he is Boeshanninan too."

"My mother was" Ianto nodded, his smile widening "Seems the bastardy side of me is, eh? Well, well, well. They want me dead. So… what are we going to do about this? They will either kill me when we DO dock or they will blow this boat oot of the black when we are within range killing everyone on board."

.

.

"This is soooo not good" Owen muttered as he fiddled about and then stood back with a look of satisfaction "Done."

"Pretty good… can't even see… wow. Owen, you should have been an artist" Ianto said as he canted his head, the brand on the dead body's arm identical to Ianto's and the black ink Owen had used was already drying to the faded black of a tattoo.

"His face is pretty much mush, the blood sample from you sent along with the photos will convince them that Daisy did the deed" Owen rose and rubbed his hands on his pants "If she can be trusted to keep to the story."

"I believe so… she did not know I am Agency born… even though they explained the brand… she truly believed I was some monster and anarchist. Mad really… the brand IS Anarchy… they are the ones who placed it on me when I was a child and chosen to serve form the pool." Ianto sighed "all I know right now is that I am so made I could set fire to their headquarters for the people they have killed just to get to me as …. Bait! Rhiannon and her children are in hiding… I have not seen them in years…. We fell out over her choice of mate. A risky move that might not have flushed her out at all … and yet we would all b dead for the chance of it?"

"You know what? I would hand you the fucking match" Owen snarled and everyone nodded silently as they agreed.

Not nice to feel so damned expendable.


	18. safe?

"Docking procedures engaged" Jack said calmly as the vessel slid into the cargo bay of the freighter that had finally answered their distress signal.

It had been another three weeks and they were beyond relieved to find it friendly. As the air pulped in and they felt the poor cruiser shudder while it bled out the last of the ergative energy Daisy glanced over at Ianto and rose, "I will go start it off."

"Do you want to take Suzie with you? Her sidearm might ensure the vid-link" Jack offered and she smiled as she nodded, Suzie rising to go with Daisy to call in the death of her mark.

They had of course made tentative contact already, held off the attack on the vessel from the second wave an sending the photos of the body that was now so badly degraded as well as the samples would give them time to get off the freigher and free rein to run before the Agency realized they had been lied to.

Jack looked over at Ianto as the door closed leaving just the two of them as everyone was scrambling to get ready to disembark. "So… the story…"

"Dead"

"No. About David" Jack rose and walked over to look Ianto in the eye "Don't lie to me. There is something going on here I can not quite put my finger on. What is it? They are not trying to kill you to flush him out, that would never work. Not if you trained them to hide like I trained my own daughter. No… what did they want from you… is it even about the boy? Or did they REALLY want you dead?"

Ianto looked at him with open annoyance, then said softly "I promised."

"Ah" Jack sighed, nodding as he watched Ianto turn back to fuss on the little baby clinging to the pod, peering out with those huge eyes. Jack knew something else was going on but felt a level of trust here. Ianto had let him in a litter… hopefully given time… it might be more?

.

.

They stood watching the cargo come off, the pods to be manually opened and with each successful wakening Owen punched the air. They had lost some, knew they would but they knew they had done the right thing with what they had saved, their story about the attack going over as the body of the one who was portrayed as Ianto was swiftly taken away by those with a look of almost manic excitement.

Daisy looked confused, almost terrified and Ianto knew why, calling out "Hey Daisy. You promised me a drink."

She shrugged at those who must be her handlers, shooting over to stand to Ianto with alarm. He said under his breath "It's OK… smile and look interested. They are going to take you out back and put a bullet in your head… you know it… I know it… so… what is the best chance of us getting out of this do you think?"

"Stick to one another" she relied, waving merrily to someone like this was all great fun "They cannot harm me if I am with a group, they cannot single you out to check theories if we are with a group."

"Agreed. We are a long way from my bird. We will smile and fucking nod like good little puppets" Jack said as he slid in to stand the other side if Ianto "If we can get to Midas 4 I have a M class Firebird we can slide into and get the fuck out of Dodge with."

"Dodge. Ahhh… I loved that movie." Ianto smiled.

Daisy turned to look at them both like they were mad.

"Get out of Dodge? Dodge city… Kansas… Old Earth… Cowboys?… Tombstone?" Ianto said, the gaped with horror "Showdown at the OK Corral? Doc Holiday? Wyatt Earp?"

"The youth of today" Jack sighed theatrically and they all started to laugh. Toshiko called out to Daisy who took off to stand with her and Owen, farther from the handlers again and close to the team who were going to snatch her away as best they could.

"Will we make it?" Ianto asked after a while.

"Yeah. Bound to. I have this natural ability to wallow in the shit I cause them come out smelling like roses. No idea why. Some say I was touched by the Golden Lady herself." Jack smiled to himself.

"Bad Wolf" Ianto said under his breath, then moved away as Jack started with surprise, then grinned.

.

.

"Fucking cheat!" John roared, tipping the table over as they all languished in the barracks provided and Daisy laughed as she threw her hand of cards at him, Suzie simply reaching out for the drink she had snatched back before the tantrum and place behind her.

"You know lover.. if you can't handle loosing... you are in the wrong team"

"Fuck. I had a full hand"

They all stared at him as he glowered then admitted "OK…OK. But it was a damned good bluff!"

Jack was next to Ianto across the room as Ianto calmly dismantled a gun in the bed he was sitting on, watching the game in progress while not looking at those deft hands. Like meditation, Ianto was doing it to relax. Jack was mesmerized and then blinked himself awake "Now we are able… I am getting a drink. Hyper Vodka Ianto?"

"No thanks, I don't drink" Ianto said, still watching John now on all fours picking up the cards with his arse to Suzie as Suzie reached her bare foot out to wriggle into his crotch from behind.

Jack sat back and watched Ianto then snap the firing pin into place. Elite. Doesn't drink? What…. You learn to drink before you even learn your base commander's first name. Ianto was hiding something and Jack had a sudden thought as to what it was, his mouth going dry as he rose to ask Toshiko to make a few covert peeks at a few things.

She stared at him and rose to comply, her body language telling him she did not approve.

But she was curious too.

If Jack was right, this changed everything.


	19. some truth?

Ianto knew.

Jack saw it in his face as he settled on the bed and started to remove the firing pin of the gun again. It was going to be the fourth stripping of the gun and Jack wondered if he might wear it out.

"Toshiko found out a few things" Jack said as he leaned back "Mostly about how long before we can run. Another two days of politeness and we will be able to hop to another cruiser heading to our berth, then onto my Firebird and we are away."

Ianto did not answer, looking at Jack with silent accusation.

"OK… she also asked a few things that I didn't want to ask you to your face… I know I should have come to you but… this is weird" Jack sighed "You are not who I thought you were, who THEY thought you were and you are more dangerous than they could ever imagine… aren't you."

"And who do you think I am now?"

"You are Icarus. Ianto is your second name, not your first. Rhiannon is your sister, not your daughter and you are trying your best to tend to her and her kids while your father is… god knows where" Jack sighed "You are not the one they are seeking. You are the one they should hope to never gain the attention of. You are the child from his Gallifreyan Term."

"No… partly right but still not quite right" Ianto shrugged as he saw no point in hiding the fact "I am the son of the one they seek. I am not the wolverine. I am the one they call the Ghost. Ianto is the name I go by, I hated Icarus as a child and all the horrible nicknames that went with it. Besides… it is a good way to confuse and attract those hunting Tad. We look alike too, further confusing everything and David… well… they think he is the danger."

"When you are such a mix of things… including Gallifreyan." Jack snorted "No wonder you were so calm, thinking though the dangers and free-forming plans… you are part Time Lord. Tell me… really... did you come from a woman … OR were you loomed?"

"See?" Ianto huffed "Narrow minded… can you hear yourself? What woman? Tell me… come now… has my Tad ever had a wife? A woman with him?"

"No.. always men" Jack said then turned slowly to stare at him "Did… did your father birth you?"

"Asks a Boeshanninan" Ianto finally smiled "come on. Don't be closed indeed. Yes. He is my Dam. And the Gallifreyan man he was with was not a keeper. Too flouncy. Anyway, Gallifreyans are very … flighty."

"Are you pregnant?"

Ianto blinked, then laughed softly "No… no it's … I do not drink alcohol because it has little effect on me due to the Gallifreyan side. I don't get drunk… high… is burns off so quickly."

"You hesitated. So wily… you can't tell the truth can you…. Typical Gallifreyan, you always lie" Jack pointed out, "Rhiannon… your sister. So… you covertly sneak about then pop up pretending to be your father, put on a show then disappear under the Icarus name again… they don't know what he looks like?"

Ianto let his head fall back "You are relentless, asking around and around… OK. I am the illegitimate son of the one they call the Wolverine. I AM part Gallifreyan, my father WAS one of the council. A one night stand. Rhiannon is older than me by a few years, Tad was able to convince the mother to pretend I was hers. When my father turned double-agent and gave up Agency secrets to the Regulators things got messy and he went into hiding. I look exactly like him so… getting a tattoo and sometimes being in a place they would expect him helped divert their eyes from where he really is… and the misbehaving he does with the Regulators."

"Ha!" Jack sat back and grinned "You do not look the same. His hair is lighter, he has a softer chin and his nose is not as cute! I thought I saw you somewhere before… been bugging me like a sore tooth. I knew it was not you, that smell so… you. It was him. At a Regulator Meeting, going over a plan we were about to undertake to …ah… do something naughty. I was so young, my father holding my arm to keep me from asking questions. He as so proud, my first dissident action."

"Of course you met him… two pirates in the same space… a wonder you didn't blow everything up. And yes to the burning question you know I can not openly reply to. If it stays here. Yes, I am." Ianto rose, "And I do not wish to discuss it or the origins. Let's just say it is worth dying to protect, and clearly worth killing everyone to get at."

"A mistake?" Jack asked as he rose to hide the shock at the admission of the pregnancy.

"No. I… sort of loved him. He was a mark but… pretty. He was punished… was young and foolish. When his father told him he would never see me again and he would hunt me down and kill me… the bloody idiot blew everything. The months of preparation and the undercover agents ready to steal the bloody Spectre of King Saxon… and the silly fool of a prince forgot my promise to come for him. Killed himself didn't he. Like a teenager, he cut his wrists and let a note saying he didn't want to live in a gilded cage. What an idiot. I saw then that I might not have actually loved him… but more the fantasy of it. I enjoyed the pretence at being normal and forgot for a moment that the Prince did not love me… he loved who I was pretending to be. I forgot who I was. Now… now they think my father seduced a poor little boy, reduced him to suicide and is flouncing about the galaxy with his unborn child. Meanwhile my father who was actually on Ferboton about to steal the sceptre had to turn tail as I was revealed to be on another planet as him. To protect me and the spark I did not expect, he had to be seen. So now letting them see… glimpses of him running to try and get me to safety but I guess they found me after all."

"Ahhhhhh." Jack frowned as he caught the admission to what he had guessed "Or did they attack anything and everything running from the sector to be sure?"

"Oh gods… are you saying other vessels might have been targeted because of me?"


	20. getting ot of Dodge

"Three other vessels gave out maydays then went dark" the captain of the vessel said as he ate the evening meal with Jack and Ianto. Ianto tried not to look too horrified as Jack nodded and the man continued "Seems the meteor storm you encountered caught them too. Quite the mess, one was a diplomatic one for the Hergiardiis."

Ianto choked and Jack thumped in on the back. Hard. Ianto managed to croak "Sorry"

"Ianto has been to this planet, the thought momentarily made him go off his food" Jack said with a bored expression and the man laughed.

"A shit hole… yahhhh"

"So… any idea how many have perished?" Ianto asked after he had control of himself again.

"Now, now sweetie" Jack said in the most condescending tone that had Ianto bristling "Don't be doing that. We are alive, we are grateful and we will not be made to feel guilty for that!"

"He is right… this sort of thing happens all the time along the backwaters of the system. You are lucky" the captain assured Ianto. "something to tell your grandchildren one day."

Ianto glanced at Jack who grinned and went off on a tangent about one time he lost an engine in the Watergill System that had everyone in gales of laughter.

.

.

"Come on… we knew this was going to be a reality" Jack said as he watched Ianto pace the cabin "We need to just… keep it together."

"I am not afraid… I am fucking angry" Ianto spat and Jack nodded to show he knew it.

"Daisy has the babies, she is in with Gwen and Rhys who are enjoying the fussing on them. You know, that Gwen is a hard woman but she is kind. Her heart is there, just her brain is wired a little… weird." Jack rose from the bed "come on. Let's try to lay in the darkness and pretend to sleep, hmmm? You need it."

"What I need is some Klingon Rum. God… at least it soothes on the way down. Little bug… I can't touch it." Ianto sighed.

"So, alcohol not affecting you was a lie?"

"No. I don't get drunk, Klingon Rum just soothes like a nice refreshing drink after a hot job" Ianto assured him "Due to my physical makeup… I can't get drunk. Believe me, I've tried. To be able to forget for a while would be lovely… doesn't happen."

..

.

"You said Firebird Class" Ianto said softly "She's a Firefly."

"I know. All in the translation I guess. Fire though, right?" Jack said with pride as the old war relic sat in the corner of the landing area like a reject pushed aside for the scrap heap. "Pretty right?"

"You know… she reminds me of Serenity. She was pretty, mind you… her captain was too. Mal was also… infuriating… hang on. You are not related are you?" Ianto swung to look at Jack with open accusation.

"No! We did serve together once upon a time but… no. I NEVER shag family" Jack said with equal horror and Ianto blinked, then laughed at Jacks' reply.

"Wow… another thing in common then… we both shagged Mal" Ianto finally choked out as Jack looked surprised.

Ianto watched Kevin approaching and Jack moving to greet him then he felt deep down that the old man was going to sakes for a ride out of here with them. Jack's nod not unexpected and Ianto felt relief in it. Daisy was also coming with… they just had to shake… oh no.

Gwen was on the far side of their area arguing with a man who was clearly from a more… expensive bird and he was not liking the offer she was making. "Jack? I do NOT want to bring her with."

Jack glanced over and jumped, "Shit. No…. come on… load up with speed and stealth. No more room people!"

They were soon strapped in and ready to fly, Jack flicking switches with a flourish of his wrist as John sat in the jump seat parroting his moves. Then Jack glanced back at Ianto in the seat behind them, grinned and hit the ignition.

Nothing.

Ianto low blinked as John shot under the console muttering, Toshiko under another one cursing in Japanese "Try now!"

Jack hit the button and the thrusters roared to life, more than one person outside the vessel reacting to the sound of a small explosion. Jack yelled "Yehawwwwww"

"Oh gods" Ianto said softly to himself "I am in a combustible rocket with a madman."

"Come on baby.. let's go!" Jack screamed, wrenching the controls and to everyone's horror the bird leapt straight up into the air and Ianto yelped as his stomach seemed to drop right out of his body.

"JACK!" everyone screamed.

Jack grimaced.

"Sorry!"


End file.
